Mark Simon Cavendish was born on 21 May 1985 and is a British professional road racing cyclist from the Isle of Man who rides for UCI WorldTeam Astana Qazaqstan Team.
127 Facts About Mark Cavendish
2.
Mark Cavendish is widely considered one of the greatest road sprinters of all time, and in 2021 was called "the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour and of cycling" by Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France.
3.
Mark Cavendish has won 34 Tour de France stages, tying him for first on the all-time list with Eddy Merckx, contributing to a third-highest total of fifty-three Grand Tour stage victories.
4.
Mark Cavendish won the Men's road race at the 2011 road world championships, becoming the second male British rider to do so after Tom Simpson.
5.
Mark Cavendish has won the points classification in all three of the grand tours: the 2010 Vuelta a Espana, the 2011, and 2021 Tours de France and the 2013 Giro d'Italia.
6.
Mark Cavendish won seven Grand Tour stages in 2013, one in 2015 and four in 2016.
7.
Mark Cavendish crashed with Peter Sagan on stage four of the 2017 Tour de France, forcing him out of the race.
8.
Mark Cavendish returned to the Tour de France at the 2021 edition, winning stages four, six, and ten to take his total to 33 stage wins, one off the overall stage victory record.
9.
Mark Cavendish won the points classification ahead of Michael Matthews and Sonny Colbrelli.
10.
Mark Cavendish was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, the son of David, a native of the Isle, and Adele from Yorkshire, England.
11.
Mark Cavendish began riding Bicycle motocross at an early age, racing at the National Sports Centre in Douglas.
12.
Mark Cavendish worked in a bank for two years after leaving school to earn enough money for an attempt at a professional career.
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Mark Cavendish gained a place as one of the first six riders selected for British Cycling's Olympic Academy for junior riders in 2003 having almost been rejected because of his relatively poor performance in stationary bike tests.
14.
Mark Cavendish won gold in the madison with Rob Hayles at the 2005 track world championships in Los Angeles.
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Mark Cavendish began 2006 with the Continental team, Team Sparkasse, a feeder squad for the T-Mobile Team.
16.
Mark Cavendish rode for the Isle of Man on the track at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, riding the scratch race.
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Mark Cavendish lapped the field with three others: England's Rob Hayles; Ashley Hutchinson of Australia; and James McCallum of Scotland.
18.
Mark Cavendish's breakthrough came at the 2007 Scheldeprijs race in Belgium, which he won.
19.
Mark Cavendish went on to win stages at the Four Days of Dunkirk and the Volta a Catalunya leading to his selection for the Tour de France.
20.
Mark Cavendish crashed in stages one and two and abandoned the race at stage eight as it reached the Alps.
21.
In 2008, Mark Cavendish returned to the track for the world championships in Manchester.
22.
Mark Cavendish was brought in to partner Bradley Wiggins in the madison, as Hayles failed a routine blood test, and was banned.
23.
Mark Cavendish paired with Wiggins in the madison, and as the reigning world champions, they were favourites for the gold medal but finished ninth.
24.
Mark Cavendish felt Wiggins had not performed to the best of his ability in the madison.
25.
Boonen won the race and one stage, though Mark Cavendish took two stages.
26.
Mark Cavendish won two stages at the Tour of California, again beating Boonen in the sprint finishes.
27.
Mark Cavendish was a surprise inclusion on the British squad for the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, where he competed in the scratch race and the madison, failing to pick up medals in either.
28.
Mark Cavendish repeated his 2008 two-stage victory at the Three Days of De Panne, winning the points classification.
29.
The first two road stages were fruitless for Mark Cavendish, who was beaten to the line by Petacchi in the first stage.
30.
Mark Cavendish was caught behind a crash and failed to make it back for the sprint the next day.
31.
Mark Cavendish soon asserted his sprinting dominance on the race gaining three stage wins before abandoning it after stage thirteen, citing a need to rest in preparation for the Tour de France.
32.
Mark Cavendish continued his preparation by racing the Tour de Suisse where he won stage three and stage six.
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Mark Cavendish retained the leader's jersey by sprinting to victory in stage two but finished fifth in stage three, losing the overall lead to Hushovd.
34.
Mark Cavendish raced in the Tour of Flanders but only to work for a teammate and gain experience.
35.
Mark Cavendish was involved in a crash and did not finish.
36.
Mark Cavendish's team withdrew Cavendish from the Tour de Romandie for making an offensive gesture after winning the second stage.
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Mark Cavendish appeared to veer off line and brought down Haussler and several other riders, raising criticism from other teams regarding his riding style.
38.
Mark Cavendish then leaned his shoulder into a fellow rider as he travelled away from the racing line.
39.
Mark Cavendish returned to form by winning the stage five, six, eleven, eighteen and twenty, bringing his career total to fifteen tour stage wins.
40.
Mark Cavendish ended up second in the points classification, eleven points behind Petacchi.
41.
Mark Cavendish's team won the team time trial with Cavendish finishing first, taking the leader's jersey.
42.
Mark Cavendish had a slow start to 2011 failing to win a race until late February when he won stage six of the Tour of Oman.
43.
Mark Cavendish came second in the second stage of the Giro d'Italia in contentious circumstances to take the pink jersey into stage three.
44.
Mark Cavendish got his first grand tour victory of the year by winning stage ten of the Giro, denying claims that he had illegally held on to his team car when climbing Mount Etna on stage nine.
45.
Mark Cavendish won his second Giro victory of 2011 on stage twelve before leaving the race.
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Mark Cavendish became the first person to win the final stage three years in succession.
47.
Mark Cavendish was docked twenty points for finishing outside the time limit after stage nine and again after eighteen.
48.
Mark Cavendish won the Stiphout Criterium in The Netherlands, beating brothers Andy and Frank Schleck of Leopard Trek to the line.
49.
Mark Cavendish then won the Profcriterium Wolvertem-Meise, followed by the Wateringse Wielerdag.
50.
Less than a week later, Mark Cavendish started the Vuelta a Espana, but abandoned it during stage four due to the searing heat.
51.
Mark Cavendish won stage one in Dumfries to take the leader's jersey, and the final stage in London.
52.
Mark Cavendish became the second British male UCI world champion after Tom Simpson in 1965.
53.
Mark Cavendish won the scratch race, his first win on the track of any kind since 2008.
54.
Mark Cavendish announced he was starting his training for the 2012 season earlier than in previous years, with the aim of being more competitive in the Classics.
55.
Amid much speculation, it was announced in October 2011 that Mark Cavendish would join Team Sky for the 2012 season.
56.
Mark Cavendish began his 2012 season at the Tour of Qatar.
57.
Mark Cavendish won stage five later in the week, moving back into the top ten of the overall classification.
58.
Mark Cavendish finished the race in sixth place, despite crashing on the final stage.
59.
Mark Cavendish did not manage to finish high up in the remaining 2012 Classics.
60.
Mark Cavendish recovered from minor injuries to win stages five and thirteen.
61.
Mark Cavendish completed the Giro, but lost the points classification to Team Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez by a single point.
62.
Mark Cavendish did win the minor Azzurri d'Italia and stage combativeness classifications.
63.
Mark Cavendish then took on a supporting role as Team Sky attempted to win the overall race overall with Wiggins.
64.
Mark Cavendish was seen carrying bottles for team-mates and even setting the pace on a Pyrenean climb.
65.
Mark Cavendish became the first person to win on the Champs-Elysees in the rainbow jersey.
66.
Mark Cavendish won three stages of the Tour of Britain, crossing the line first in Dumfries, Blackpool and Guildford.
67.
Mark Cavendish then went on to win the Tour of Qatar, with four consecutive stage victories out of six.
68.
Mark Cavendish went on to win stage six from a bunch sprint after a pan-flat stage.
69.
Mark Cavendish won stage twelve, claiming his 100th professional victory and reclaiming the lead in the points classification.
70.
Mark Cavendish overtook David Millar on the home straight and held off a challenge by Ian Stannard, who recovered from a puncture in the penultimate lap to claim silver.
71.
Mark Cavendish was greeted on the line by Andre Darrigade, the previous record holder for most Tour stages won by a sprinter.
72.
Later that month Cavendish decided to ride the Danmark Rundt winning the race's final stage.
73.
Mark Cavendish won the final stage in London the next day.
74.
Mark Cavendish won four stages and the points classification at the Tour of Turkey.
75.
Mark Cavendish suffered a separated right shoulder and did not start the next stage.
76.
Mark Cavendish came back to competition at the Tour de l'Ain, where he was winless.
77.
Mark Cavendish then showed some form at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, winning the first two stages.
78.
Mark Cavendish ended 2014 competing on the track, taking second place at the Six Days of Ghent and winning the Six Days of Zurich, both with Iljo Keisse.
79.
Mark Cavendish later ruled out an attempt to enter the track cycling competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics due to his road commitments.
80.
Mark Cavendish next raced at the Tour of Turkey, where he won three stages and the points classification ahead of Daniele Ratto.
81.
Mark Cavendish then participated in the Tour of California, showing good form by winning four stages and the points classification ahead of overall winner Sagan.
82.
At the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish won stage seven by taking Andre Greipel's wheel before passing him in a sprint finish in Fougeres.
83.
Mark Cavendish wanted to win a medal at the Olympics in the omnium.
84.
Mark Cavendish lost the jersey the following day when Sagan won stage two.
85.
Mark Cavendish won stage three in a photo finish with Andre Greipel in Angers, taking his twenty-eighth win and equalling Bernard Hinault's tally.
86.
Mark Cavendish won stage six in a bunch sprint at Montauban, ahead of Marcel Kittel and Dan McLay, to increase his lead.
87.
Mark Cavendish finished second to Michael Matthews at the finish line in Revel and won the stage's intermediate sprint.
88.
Mark Cavendish went on to take his fourth stage of the 2016 Tour, and his thirtieth Tour stage victory on stage fourteen, passing Alexander Kristoff and Sagan at the finish in Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux.
89.
Mark Cavendish quit the Tour on the second rest day before the mountainous stages citing his need to prepare for the Olympics.
90.
Mark Cavendish was back to form by the 2017 Tour de France, but reigning World Champion Peter Sagan reportedly forced Mark Cavendish into the barriers in the final sprint at the finish of stage four.
91.
Mark Cavendish suffered a fractured shoulder blade, after landing on his right shoulder which he had dislocated three years earlier and withdrew from the race.
92.
Rob Hayles, a former professional cyclist, said Mark Cavendish was already heading into the barriers before Sagan put his elbow out.
93.
Mark Cavendish claimed no contact occurred between the two cyclists.
94.
Mark Cavendish returned to race at the madison in the Six Day London.
95.
Mark Cavendish began his 2018 season at the Dubai Tour, winning stage three.
96.
Mark Cavendish then raced the Tour of Oman, placing second on the opening stage.
97.
Mark Cavendish then went on to start the Abu Dhabi Tour, only to crash in the neutralised zone of the first stage.
98.
Mark Cavendish fell on the shoulder he fractured at the previous year's Tour de France and was forced to abandon the race.
99.
Mark Cavendish suffered another fractured rib, bruising and abrasions, as well as a possible ankle ligament injury.
100.
Mark Cavendish crossed the line one hour five minutes and 33 seconds after stage winner Geraint Thomas, well outside the time limit that had been set at 31:27.
101.
Mark Cavendish returned to racing at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina, after not having raced since August 2018.
102.
Mark Cavendish finished eighth and later said it was "nice to be back in the peloton".
103.
Mark Cavendish was not selected for the Tour de France because of strained relations with Team Dimension Data principal and owner Douglas Ryder and other health issues since 2017.
104.
Mark Cavendish was able to finish sixth on stage three, however.
105.
Mark Cavendish eventually abandoned the race on stage six of the tour to focus on the European Road Championships, where he finished 31st.
106.
Mark Cavendish was selected by Team Dimension Data to lead the team at the Deutschland Tour and to ride in the Tour of Britain.
107.
Mark Cavendish made his debut for Bahrain-McLaren at the Tour of Saudi Arabia in February 2020, where he helped team-mate Phil Bauhaus to two stage wins and the overall win, after Cavendish crashed twice on the second stage of the race.
108.
Mark Cavendish rode in the delayed cobbled classics in the autumn, making a number of early breakaways.
109.
Mark Cavendish won stages four, six, ten and thirteen of the Tour, bringing his total of Tour de France stage victories to 34, making him the joint record holder for Tour stage wins along with Eddy Merckx.
110.
Mark Cavendish was closely following world Madison champion Lasse Norman Hansen, behind Gerben Thijssen and Kenny De Ketele when Thijssen slipped on a damp patch on the track sending De Ketele up the banking to sweep away Hansen's front wheel, bringing down both Hansen and Mark Cavendish.
111.
Mark Cavendish was taken to the intensive care unit of Ghent University Hospital suffering from broken ribs and a punctured lung.
112.
Mark Cavendish opened his season in the Middle East with the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team at the Tour of Oman.
113.
Mark Cavendish finished second to Fernando Gaviria on the opening stage, but the following day he won the sprint for stage 2, taking the lead in both the general and points classifications.
114.
Mark Cavendish finished the six-day event in fourth place in the points classification following a points deduction after stage 5, and being blocked by Maximiliano Richeze in the sprint for stage 6.
115.
In May, Mark Cavendish contested the Giro d'Italia for the first time since 2013, and he won the third stage of the race in Hungary, his 16th Giro stage win.
116.
Mark Cavendish took two further podium finishes during the race, and ultimately finished third in the points classification, behind Arnaud Demare and Gaviria.
117.
Mark Cavendish was scheduled to make his first starts with the team in Oman, at the Muscat Classic and the Tour of Oman.
118.
Mark Cavendish has an aggressive riding style that has been compared to a sprinter pushing on the starting blocks.
119.
The crash caused Haussler, Arnaud Coyot and Lloyd Mondory to quit the race because of their injuries, though Mark Cavendish was able to continue.
120.
Mark Cavendish received a thirty-second penalty and a CHF200 fine.
121.
The start of the next stage was disrupted by fellow riders protesting Mark Cavendish's riding and style, and what they claimed was a lack of respect from him.
122.
Mark Cavendish's riding style resulted in organisers of the 2013 Boxmeer Criterium in the Netherlands to announce he was not welcome due to an incident during stage ten of the 2013 Tour de France, when he bumped Dutch rider Tom Veelers in a sprint finish, sending the Argos-Shimano rider tumbling.
123.
In 2016, Mark Cavendish accepted responsibility and apologised for the crash of South Korean cyclist Park Sang-hoon at the men's omnium event at the Olympics when an incident between them led to Park being thrown from his bike.
124.
On 5 October 2013, Mark Cavendish married model Peta Todd in London, making him stepfather to her son from a previous relationship.
125.
Mark Cavendish has three homes: one on the Isle of Man, which he said will always be his real home; one in Ongar, Essex, and a training base in Quarrata, Tuscany, Italy.
126.
In January 2015 Mark Cavendish announced the creation of the Rise Above Sportive, a cyclosportive to be held in Chester and North Wales in August 2015.
127.
At a press conference in London ahead of the 2009 Tour de France, Mark Cavendish explained the book was "more a biography of last year's Tour stage wins" than an autobiography.